Vernacular Architecture Forum Call for Papers

CALL FOR PAPERS: Vernacular Architecture Forum 2018 Annual Meeting, A Shared Heritage: Urban and Rural Experience on the Banks of the Potomac, May 2-5, 2018, in Alexandria, Virginia.

DEADLINE – OCTOBER 30, 2017

The Vernacular Architecture Forum (www.vafweb.org) invites paper proposals for its 37th Annual Conference, A Shared Heritage: Urban and Rural Experience on the Banks of the Potomac, May 2-5, 2018, in Alexandria, Virginia. Papers may address vernacular and everyday buildings, sites, or cultural landscapes worldwide. Submissions on all relevant topics are welcome but we encourage papers exploring mid-Atlantic American themes exploring agriculture, maritime activities, industrialization, urbanization, suburbanization, as well as themes such ethnic identity, religious expression, and the creation of vacation and recreation landscapes. Additionally, the VAF is launching a multi-year program of inquiry into the distinctiveness of the VAF and the vernacular architecture movement. To this end, we encourage papers that consider this field over time. How does the wide range of VAF projects (tours, guidebooks, book and article awards, field schools, annual conference papers, publications, etc.) demonstrate how our questions, concerns, and methods have changed and evolved? Where do we see evidence of that history in our current work, and what might our future look like? Proposals might focus on a particular building type (i.e. houses, barns), a research strategy (fieldwork), political or theoretical convictions (Gender, Marxism, the Everyday, etc.), or particular approaches to presenting our work and engaging colleagues and the public.

Students and young professionals may apply for the Pamela H. Simpson Presenter’s Fellowships offering support of up to $500 to presenting papers at VAF’s annual conference.

SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT

Papers should be analytical rather than descriptive, and no more than twenty minutes in length. Proposals for complete sessions, roundtable discussions or other innovative means that facilitate scholarly discourse are especially encouraged. At least one session will be devoted to Field Notes – shorter papers (five to eight minutes in length) that introduce new techniques, innovations, and discoveries in documenting vernacular buildings and landscapes. Proposals should clearly state the argument of the paper and explain the methodology and content in fewer than 400 words. Make sure to indicate if it is a regular paper proposal or a shorter fieldwork proposal or intended for the VAF distinctiveness session. Please include the paper title, author’s name, email address, a one-page c.v. You may include up to two images with your submission. Note that presenters must deliver their papers in person and be VAF members at the time of the conference. Speakers who do not register for the conference by March 1, 2018, will be withdrawn. Please do not submit an abstract if you are not committed to attending the papers session on Saturday, May 5, 2018.

VAF’s Pamela H. Simpson Presenter’s Fellowships offer a limited amount of financial assistance to students and young professionals presenting papers at VAF’s annual conference. Awards are intended to offset travel and registration costs for students, and to attract developing scholars to the organization. Any person presenting a paper who is currently enrolled in a degree-granting program, or who has received a degree within one year of the annual conference is eligible to apply. Awards cannot exceed $500. Previous awardees are ineligible, even if their status has changed. Recipients are expected to participate fully in the conference, including tours and workshops.